YuGiOh: Soul of the Duelist
by djb21212-Steeldramon21
Summary: After being challenged to an unexpected duel, Yugi must choose between keeping his Millennium Puzzle and Egyptian God Card to save the world or saving the lives of Tea and Joey. First chapter uploaded August 19, 2003.


Yu-Gi-Oh: Battle City  
  
Soul of the Duelist  
  
Written by: Steeldramon21  
  
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh belongs to 4Kids Entertainment and KidsWB.  
  
Plot: (as The Rock) Finally, the Steel has come back... to Yu-Gi-Oh! (normal voice) Well, I've promised it for almost a year, now I'm going to deliver. This story is based on the saga "Joey's Betrayal" and asks the question: what if Tea's mind was taken over instead of Joey's? Would Marik finally succeed in taking away everything Yugi holds dear to him, or will Yugi find a way to save his friends' lives? This is a Yugi/Tea story with hints of Joey/Mai later as well one-sided Tristan/Serenity and... Marik/Tea. (author shudders in total disgust) Anyway, enjoy the story. (author runs to the bathroom yelling "Unclean! Unclean!!!")  
  
Chapter 1  
  
'We're almost there, guys.' Yugi Muuto thought to himself as he looked out of the window of Seto Kaiba's personal helicopter, his mind racked with guilt and fear. Throughout his time in the BAttle City tournament, he had encountered a group of people known as Rare Hunters, loyal to a madman called Marik and controlled by the Millennium Rod. They had constantly harrassed Yugi and his friends with threats unless he handed Marik his Millennium Puzzle. Now that madman had accomplished his threat by abducting two of the most important people in Yugi's life: his best friend, Joey Wheeler, and his friend/secret crush, Tea Gardner.  
  
"This is it." Mokuba, Seto's little brother, pointed out. "This is the dock where Joey and Tea are being held."  
  
"Keep in mind, Yugi, that I'm only doing this because of Mokuba." Seto warned. "Once this fiasco is over, our duel can finally begin."  
  
"I don't care about the duel, Kaiba!" Yugi told him. "Joey and Tea's lives are in danger because of that madman, Marik. I could care less about a duel right now until they're safe!"  
  
They departed the helicopter as it touched the ground and Yugi looked around frantically, hoping to see if his friends were indeed safe and sound. The dock was empty, completely devoid of anyone. He spotted what looked like Tea standing in front of a yacht, stiff as a statue.  
  
"Tea!" Yugi called out as he raced over, relieved that at least one of his friends was safe. But he soon froze in shock at what he saw. It was indeed Tea but she appeared completely different. Her crystalline-blue eyes were cold and dark as she looked at Yugi and the Kaiba brothers, an sinister smile gracing her once kind lips.  
  
"Welcome at last, little Yugi." Tea said in a cruel sounding voice that wasn't her own. "I've been expecting you for some time now. Heh heh heh..."  
  
"Marik!" Yugi said in anger, realizing that she was under the madman's control. "What have you done to her?"  
  
"Nothing yet. She is merely one of my many mind slaves for now. However, I intend to make her so much more than that once I'm finished with you."  
  
"Seto, what going on?" Mokuba asked his older brother. "That doesn't sound like Tea at all."  
  
"It has to be one of Marik's tricks." Seto replied, remembering the few times that he had seen something similar with Marik's Rare Hunters when they lost a duel to Yugi.  
  
"If you want to save your little friends' lives, you'll do exactly as I say." Tea/Marik said, the cruel smile not leaving her lips. As she turned around and started down the dock, Yugi went after her with the Kaiba brothers following behind. They arrived at the end of the dock, where a construction crane held a large metal crate over an empty chair.  
  
"Where have you taken us, Marik?" Yugi demanded, already angry that the holder of the Millennium Rod would possess someone close to him. Suddenly, two Rare Hunters appeared from nearby and shackled them to the dock.  
  
"Look around you, little Yugi." Tea/Marik told him. "This is a very special dueling arena. Right now, we are shackled to an anchor hanging above us. This anchor is triggered by the life point counter you see in front of you. When it drops to zero, it will drag the loser to the bottom of the ocean!" She saw the startled look on Yugi, Kaiba, and Mokuba's faces and smiled evilly as she continued. "That's not all. It's also connected to a timer that is set for thirty minutes. At the end, it will drag both duelists to the ocean's floor!"  
  
"Tea, if you can hear me, please try to fight this!" Yugi pleaded. "You have to break Marik's mind control! Please try to remember who you are!"  
  
"Save your pleas, little Yugi." Tea/Marik told him, smirking at his pleas. "You little girlfriend belongs to me now. And that's not all." She snapped her fingers and a figure walked out of the shadows. It was Joey, except he was under the same control as Tea.  
  
"After all, we wouldn't want little Joey to miss out on the fun also, would we?" Joey/Marik told them as he moved to the empty chair under the crate.  
  
"Seto, you have to do something to stop this duel." Mokuba said to his brother. "Someone's going to get hurt if this goes on."  
  
"As head of Battle City, I'm ordering this duel to stop." Kaiba ordered. Tea/Marik laughed coldly at Kaiba, only serving to infuriate him.  
  
"Save it, Kaiba, because if you attempt to stop this duel, little Joey's going to get turned into a crab cake."  
  
"That's right." Joey/Marik added. "So I'd advise you to keep your comments to yourself."  
  
"As for you, little Yugi," Tea/Marik said as she turned back to him, "I want you to take Slypher the Sky Dragon out of your deck. That way, the winner of this duel will not only possess your Millennium Puzzle but also an Egyptian God card as well."  
  
'I wasn't going to use Slypher anyway.' Yugi thought to himself as he looked through his deck and removed the card. 'It's too dangerous.' Suddenly, he looked over the cards on top of his deck. One was his Dark Magician card, his personal favorite. The other was the Dark Magician Girl, a card that once belonged to Tea. She had given it to him just before Battle City as a birthday present...  
  
(Flashback)  
  
"Happy Birthday, Yugi." Tea had said as she handed him a carefully wrapped package. Yugi eagerly opened it and smiled when he saw what it was. It was new Duel Monsters deck.  
  
"Thanks Tea." Yugi said gratefully. "I can use these cards in Battle City."  
  
"Wait a sec." Tea reached into her purse and pulled out another card. "I want you to add this to your deck, too. It's my favorite card, the Dark Magician Girl. I've kept it for a long time but never used it."  
  
"Tea..." Yugi muttered, speechless that his friend would give up her favorite card to help him. "I... I don't know what to say."  
  
"Just promise me that you'll use it, Yugi." Tea said as she smiled. Yugi put the card into his dueling deck and returned the smile, making her blush lightly.  
  
"I promise."  
  
(End Flashback)  
  
'Tea gave me this card for a reason.' Yugi thought as he reshuffled his deck before laying the card belt with Slypher in it on the ground. 'Maybe I can use it for the same reason Joey gave me his Red Eyes Black Dragon: to help stop Marik and save the world.'  
  
"Excellent." Tea/Marik as she strapped on a duel disk. "Now the duel can begin. And I promise you, little Yugi, you will lose all that you have to me. Heh heh heh..." 


End file.
